Written Answers Monday 22 June 2009

Scottish Executive

British Sign Language

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the outcome was of the pilot study of the online British Sign Language interpreting service.

Alex Neil: The Scottish Government funded Deaf Connections to conduct a time-limited online British Sign Language (BSL)/English interpreting pilot during 2007-08. The pilot was funded to test the new approach to interpreting provision and to start to explore if it could contribute to a better deployment of the limited number of interpreters available in Scotland.

  Whilst the evaluation suggested that an online interpreting service can be useful in a number of situations, particularly in rural areas or when the interpreting assignment is of a short duration the service should not be seen as an alternative to the existing traditional, face-to-face service. The evaluation suggested that the deaf people who used the online interpreting service preferred it to online services delivered in English. Interpreters felt the pilot had allayed their initial professional concerns.

  The pilot demonstrated that an online interpreting service can work and that technical difficulties and professional concerns can be overcome. The lessons from the pilot are helpful to policy makers and have contributed to the government’s understanding of online services for people who use BSL.

  A copy of the evaluation of the pilot carried out by Deaf Connections is available on the Scottish Government website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/Equality/disability/remit/projects/.

British Sign Language

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports the use of a multimedia platform for the provision of a British Sign Language interpreting service.

Alex Neil: The Scottish Government is interested to note the progress in multimedia technology which will benefit deaf people who use British Sign Language (BSL). A number of voluntary organisations and private companies in Scotland are testing the market by offering online BSL/English interpreting and other products. These services are at an early stage of development and while advancing technology will offer opportunities for online interpreting services to be developed, online interpreting may not be appropriate for all occasions and safeguards need to be built in to any future developments.

British Sign Language

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will develop and improve access to British Sign Language interpreting services.

Alex Neil: The Scottish Government is taking action to improve access to British Sign Language (BSL)/English interpreting services by supporting measures to increase the number of BSL/English interpreters available across Scotland. In 2003 there were 39 registered interpreters in Scotland and there are now 60 interpreters and 10 apprentices currently registered in Scotland.

  Over the period 2008-11, the Scottish Government has committed £1.5 million to support an innovative package of measures to increase the number of registered BSL/English interpreters working in Scotland and to develop a work-based route to becoming an interpreter. This will complement the already established academic route, and make becoming an interpreter more accessible. Part of this funding will also support the teaching of BSL at all levels to increase access to services either directly though BSL, or through appropriately qualified interpreters.

Digital Technology

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that internet broadband connectivity in Northbay, Barra, could be improved by an exchange upgrade, considering that the standard BT connection covers all homes that use the Northbay exchange.

Jim Mather: The Connected Communities broadband service available in Northbay, Barra, is consistent with the Scottish Government’s current broadband commitment which aims to provide an affordable basic broadband service (512Kbps) to known demand.

  Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), which deals with all operational matters in relation to the Connected Communities project, has confirmed that the Connected Communities service also offers higher bandwidth packages in addition to the basic service. Furthermore, the Connected Communities broadband service is symmetric (same upload speed as download speed), unlike that available on a standard BT connection.

Digital Technology

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to ensure that Highlands and Islands Enterprise is providing an internet service on Barra that is satisfactory to all inhabitants.

Jim Mather: Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), which deals with all operational matters in relation to the Connected Communities project, has advised that the project has been providing a satisfactory internet service in the areas of Barra served by the Castlebay and Greinn mast sites since May 2006. The service to the rest of Barra was completed when the Loch Ob and Eoligarry relay sites were completed in December 2008. In the same way that BT cannot guarantee broadband coverage on its broadband-enabled exchanges, Connected Communities is unable to guarantee 100% coverage. Connected Communities also provides a broadband connection to a number of subscribers in Barra who are unable to receive a service from the (BT broadband-enabled) Castlebay exchange due to their distance from the exchange.

  Furthermore, in recognition of the publication of the Digital Britain report on 16 June, we understand that the UK Government’s universal service commitment will deliver broadband at a speed of 2Mbps. Further details of how this will be delivered or expected timescales for particular areas are not yet known.

Digital Technology

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when installing publicly funded wireless internet networks in places such as Barra whether it is practicable to consider the views of people who will be affected.

Jim Mather: Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), which deals with all operational matters in relation to the Connected Communities project, has advised that following award of contracts for this project, a number of community champions liaised with the project team on behalf of their communities. The project team continues to consider views from all users of the Connected Communities service and currently liaises with the communities served by the project through community coordinators employed by the local authority, and through meetings with community councils.

Digital Technology

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of households in the Northbay area of Barra has a working internet connection provided by the Concom exchange.

Jim Mather: Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), which deals with all operational matters in relation to the Connected Communities project, has advised me that 5% of households in the Northbay area of Barra have a working internet connection provided by the Connected Communities service, which is network-based. A further 21 orders in Northbay have still to be installed; once completed, the proportion will increase to 18%.

Drug Misuse

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the monetary value has been of the assets recovered from drug dealers in the Lothians and Borders police force area in each year since 1999.

Frank Mulholland: The following tables set out the amounts secured by the civil recovery unit in respect of cash forfeiture and asset recovery cases originating in the Lothian and Borders police force area. It is not possible to break down these cases by criminality. The civil recovery unit was established in 2003 following the implementation of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

  

 Financial Year
Cash Forfeited: Lothian and Borders
Cash Forfeited: National


 2003-04
£21,046.50
£672,823.71


 2004-05
 NIL
£797,839.33


 2005-06
£33,723.18
£604,199.67


 2006-07
£90,315.25
£1,200,427.29


 2007-08
£151,872.70
£1,335,188.27


 2008-09
£254,603.00
£1,961,333.33



  

 Financial Year
Assets Forfeited: Lothian and Borders
Assets Forfeited: National


 2003-04
 NIL
£23,986.29


 2004-05
£35,919.09
£203,407.93


 2005-06
 NIL
£761,602.33


 2006-07
 NIL
£496,214.77


 2007-08
£242,254.18
£1,365,267.13


 2008-09
 NIL
£789,967.52



  The following table sets out the value of confiscation orders secured by the national casework division in column 1 in respect of cases reported by Lothian and Borders police and in column 2 the orders secured nationally. The national casework division deals with the confiscation of proceeds of crime following conviction and secures confiscation orders instructing criminals to make payment of the sums noted. Details of payments made to these confiscation orders are collated not by Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service but by Scottish Court Service.

  

 Financial Year
Value of Confiscation Orders: Lothian and Borders 
(Predicate Offence – Misuse of Drugs Act 1971)
Value of Confiscation Orders:National


 2003-04
£438,200.34
£1,494,365.05


 2004-05
£107,916.84
£1,347,599.02


 2005-06
£300,845.22
£3,469,739.48


 2006-07
£457,242.77
£4,424,313.00


 2007-08
£261,169.44
£2,847,037.02


 2008-09
£205,610.60
£3,508,548.30

Drug Misuse

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has provided to support action on drug issues in each of the last three years, broken down by recipient group.

Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government allocates funding from a variety of sources to support action on drug issues.

  The following tables set out details of funding allocations for each of the last three financial years as well as for the current financial year.

  Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation:

  Money is allocated from the Justice Directorate budget to NHS boards for drug treatment and rehabilitation services.

  

 NHS Board
2006-07 (£ Million)
2007-08 (£ Million)
2008-09 (£ Million)
2009-10 (£ Million)


 Argyll and Clyde*
 2,226
 N/A
 N/A
 N/A


 Ayrshire and Arran
 1,155
 1,155
 1,198
 1,360


 Borders
 189
 189
 196
 222


 Dumfries and Galloway
 482
 482
 500
 568


 Fife
 1,378
 1,378
 1,430
 1,623


 Forth Valley
 828
 828
 859
 975


 Grampian
 2,202
 2,202
 2,285
 2,593


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 6,392
 8,114
 8,422
 9,559


 Highland
 489
 993
 1,031
 1,170


 Lanarkshire
 1,591
 1,591
 1,651
 1,874


 Lothian
 4,645
 4,645
 4,821
 5,472


 Orkney
 54
 54
 56
 64


 Shetland
 72
 72
 75
 85


 Tayside
 1,965
 1,965
 2,039
 2,314


 Western Isles
 101
 101
 105
 119


 Total Scotland
 23,769
 23,769
 24,668
 27,998



  Note: *Argyll and Clyde health board split between Greater Glasgow and Highland in 2006-07.

  Alcohol and Drug Action Team Support:

  Money is allocated from the Justice and Health Directorate budgets to support the operation of Alcohol and Drug Action Teams.

  

 NHS Board
 2006-07 (£)
 2007-08 (£)
 2008-09 (£)
 2009-10 (£)


 Argyll and Clyde*
 178,549
 N/A
 N/A
 N/A


 Ayrshire and Arran
 173,139
 173,139
 183,527
 191,074


 Borders
 115,077
 115,077
 121,982
 125,594


 Dumfries and Galloway
 120,048
 120,048
 127,251
 131,566


 Fife
 168,963
 168,963
 179,101
 185,969


 Forth Valley
 161,413
 161,413
 171,098
 176,908


 Grampian
 231,192
 231,192
 245,064
 253,622


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 232,070
 370,213
 392,426
 412,599


 Highland
 157,078
 197,484
 209,333
 215,997


 Lanarkshire
 190,287
 190,287
 201,704
 211,421


 Lothian
 280,687
 280,687
 297,528
 309,300


 Orkney
 90,819
 90,819
 96,268
 98,569


 Shetland
 90,983
 90,983
 96,422
 98,777


 Tayside
 222,499
 222,499
 235,849
 243,597


 Western Isles
 92,199
 92,199
 97,731
 100,291


 Total Scotland
 2,505,003
£2,505,003
£2,655,284
£2,755,284



  Note: *Argyll and Clyde health board split between Greater Glasgow and Highland in 2006-07.

  Hepatitis C Funding:

  Money is allocated from the Health Directorate budget to support the Hepatitis C Phase 2 Action Plan and other related activity.

  

 NHS Boards
 2006-07 (£)
 2007-08 (£)
 2008-09 (£)
 2009-10 (£)


 Ayrshire and Arran
 140,952
 140,952
 251,472
 941,277


 Borders
 20,866
 20,866
 41,687
 134,819


 Dumfries and Galloway
 59,050
 59,050
 106,939
 383,496


 Fife
 81,410
 81,410
 161,689
 610,615


 Forth Valley
 97,905
 97,905
 223,163
 844,896


 Grampian
 223,346
 223,346
 423,448
 1,582,713


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 696,804
 696,804
 1,212,441
 4,429,115


 Highland
 84,596
 84,596
 148,493
 542,858


 Lanarkshire
 176,110
 176,110
 303,242
 1,107,989


 Lothian
 275,154
 275,154
 507,758
 1,914,401


 Orkney
 2,889
 2,889
 11,906
 24,821


 Shetland
 4,437
 4,437
 14,023
 32,142


 Tayside
 129,020
 129,020
 269,400
 994,319


 Western Isles
 2,989
 2,989
 12,759
 28,113


 Total NHS Boards Scotland
 1,995,528
 1,995,528
 3,688,420
 13,571,573


 Other Public Sector
 
 
 
 


 State Hospital
 4,472
 4,472
 13,267
 27,340


 NSS
 395,000
 295,000
 1,133,001
 1,703,579


 NHS Education for Scotland
 -
 -
 41,207
 41,207


 Health Scotland
 -
 -
 30,905
 41,207


 Learning Teaching Scotland
 -
 -
 120,000
 50,000


 Scottish Prison Service
 -
 -
 345,000
 410,000


 Voluntary Sector
 
 
 
 


 Mainliners*
 70,000
 70,000
 80,000
 130,000


 Scottish Drugs Forum
 -
 -
 -
 70,000


 UK Hepatitis C Trust
 -
 -
 -
 100,000



  Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTO):

  Money is allocated from the Justice Directorate budget to support the operation of Drug Treatment and Testing Orders and Drug Courts.

  

 DTTO Grant Allocations
 2006-07 (£)
 2007-08 (£)
 2008-09 (£)
 2009-10 (£)


 Community Justice Authority*
 
 
 
 


 Fife and Forth Valley**
 1,657,295
 1,657,295
 1,657,295
 1,657,295


 Glasgow***
 1,812,914
 1,772,977
 1,770,083
 1,770,083


 Lanarkshire
 594,500
 594,500
 594,500
 594,500


 Lothian and Borders
 1,620,924
 1,687,227
 2,145,098
 2,240,637


 Northern 
 676,459
 676,459
 676,459
 676,459


 North Strathclyde
 1,118,705
 1,118,705
 1,118,705
 1,118,705


 South West Scotland
 797,969
 797,969
 797,969
 797,969


 Tayside 
 584,899
 584,899
 584,899
 584,899


 Total 
 8,863,665
 8,890,031
 9,345,008
 9,440,547



  Notes:

  *Community Justice Authorities (CJAs) did not exist in 2006-07 and the allocations in this spreadsheet comprise the total grant allocated to relevant local authorities that exist within each CJA.

  **Fife and Forth Valley allocations include all funding related to Fife Drug Court.

  ***Glasgow allocations include all funding related to Glasgow Drug Court and Drug Coordinator costs in 2006-07 and 2007-08.

  Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA):

  Money is allocated from the Justice Directorate budget to support the Scottish Crime and Drug enforcement agency.

  

 
 2006-07* 
(£ Million)
 2007-08 
(£ Million)
 2008-09 
(£ Million)
 2009-10 
(£ Million)


 Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA)
 22.2
23.1
23.6
24.7



  Note: *The Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency (SDEA) became the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency on 1 April 2007.

  This is not the complete picture of spend to support action on drug issues. The health board and other local partners, including local authorities and the police, spend additional funds on tackling problem drug misuse in order to meet the needs of the local population.

  In addition, an examination of the level and effectiveness of public sector spend on alcohol and drugs was conducted by Audit Scotland, the report of which was published March 2009. A copy of the report is available at the following link:

  http://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/docs/health/2009/nr_090326_drugs_alcohol.pdf.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been referred to NHS obesity services in each of the last 10 years, broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: This information is not held centrally.

Housing

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications to the mortgage to rent scheme were received in the three months from March to May 2008 and how many were successful.

Alex Neil: One hundred and twenty one applications were received to the mortgage to rent scheme in the three months from March to May 2008 and 66 have been successful so far.

Housing

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications to the mortgage to rent scheme in the three months from March to May 2008 were rejected and for what reasons.

Alex Neil: Thirty-eight applications to the mortgage to rent scheme were rejected in the three months from March to May 2008 for the following reasons:

  Thirteen evictions were carried out;

  Nine, no landlord was willing to buy the property;

  Eight where the value of the property was outwith the scheme eligibility criteria, and

  Five where arrears were paid and legal action by the lender was cancelled;

  Three households were unable to reach an agreement with their lender to repay the shortfall.

  This represents 31 per cent of applications received in the same period.

Housing

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications to the mortgage to rent scheme in the three months from March to May 2009 were rejected and for what reasons.

Alex Neil: Twenty-four applications to the Home Owners’ Support Fund were rejected in the three months from March to May 2009 for the following reasons:

  Twenty one where the value of the property was outwith the scheme eligibility criteria;

  One eviction carried out;

  One, no landlord was willing to buy the property, and

  One household reached agreement with their lender on how to manage arrears.

  This represents nine per cent of applications received in the same period.

  Six of the 21 rejected on the basis of value were rejected between 1 March and 15 March.

  It should be noted that statistics provided are based on our computerised records which are updated regularly. However, there may be time lags of a few days in logging individual case details onto the system.

Housing

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any changes have been made to the rules governing the new Home Owners’ Support Fund since its launch in March 2009.

Alex Neil: No changes have been made to the rules governing the Home Owners’ Support Fund since its launch in March 2009. However we will review take-up and rejection rates regularly to ensure that the mortgage to rent scheme and mortgage to shared equity scheme maintain their effectiveness.

  In addition, we will apply some flexibility in exceptional circumstances. For example, it is right that individuals should seek help from UK Government schemes first to ensure Scottish Government funding goes as far as possible and is the option of last resort. However, we are willing to consider applications where individuals can show that assistance from these UK schemes still isn’t adequate to stave off the risk of repossession.

Housing

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to set up a voluntary accreditation scheme for land maintenance companies and, if so, when the scheme will be set up and what indications it has that it would be successful.

Alex Neil: The Scottish Government is working with industry, consumer and housing stakeholders to establish an industry-led national accreditation scheme for residential property managers. The scheme will be voluntary but membership will require adherence to high standards of service and an effective complaints system linked to robust and independent third party redress.

  We intend the scheme to be applicable to the full range of residential property management and land maintenance services, including land-owning land maintenance companies (ownership LMCs). The scheme is being designed to maximise the benefits of membership, which in the case of ownership LMCs should include enhanced reputation and public image, clarity about standards and greater potential to attract business from developers that choose to use this land maintenance model. Home owners who are customers of accredited ownership LMCs will benefit particularly from the application of recognised standards and access to a complaints system and independent redress.

  The provisional aim is to launch the scheme in summer 2010. The timing will be kept under review since it depends on a number of matters outwith the Scottish Government’s control.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will take forward the recommendations of the Repossessions Working Group.

Alex Neil: The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing set out details of how we will take forward the Repossessions Group’s recommendations in her statement to Parliament on 17 June 2009. Work is underway to introduce legislation in the autumn, and action is also being taken on other non-legislative recommendations.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many repossession actions (a) were taken forward in 2008 and (b) have been taken forward in 2009, broken down by local authority area.

Fergus Ewing: Statistics about court actions for repossession at a local authority level are based on the location of the court at which the case was registered. Whilst local authority and court areas are not coterminous, this provides the best available approximation to local authority information.

  The number of Ordinary Cause1 Land/Heritable - Mortgage/Loan Lender2 actions registered with sheriff courts, by approximate local authority area3, January 2008 to May 2009.

  

 Local Authority
 Jan-Mar 20084
 Apr-Jun 
2008
 Jul-Sep 2008
 Oct-Dec 
2008
 Jan-Mar 
2009
 Apr-May 20095


 Aberdeen City
 78
 86
 59
 67
 68
 29


 Aberdeenshire
 48
 46
 52
 40
 20
 15


 Angus
 20
 24
 28
 32
 21
 23


 Argyll and Bute
 20
 24
 30
 28
 25
 10


 Clackmannanshire
 26
 9
 0
 15
 4
 1


 Dumfries and Galloway
 65
 49
 52
 46
 38
 30


 Dundee City
 81
 77
 67
 70
 38
 24


 East Ayrshire
 165
 131
 177
 118
 124
 68


 East Dunbartonshire
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 East Lothian
 49
 51
 64
 45
 36
 18


 East Renfrewshire
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Edinburgh, City of
 309
 285
 297
 214
 193
 152


 Eilean Siar
 0
 1
 7
 5
 3
 6


 Falkirk
 56
 75
 72
 63
 74
 27


 Fife
 168
 234
 254
 186
 203
 95


 Glasgow, City of
 0
 547
 598
 415
 347
 289


 Highland
 75
 82
 78
 44
 59
 32


 Inverclyde
 49
 54
 56
 33
 23
 21


 Midlothian
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Moray
 25
 23
 7
 17
 13
 7


 North Ayrshire
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 North Lanarkshire
 138
 152
 166
 126
 107
 64


 Orkney Islands
 0
 3
 2
 2
 1
 2


 Perth and Kinross
 37
 34
 58
 36
 23
 17


 Renfrewshire
 176
 162
 185
 138
 142
 78


 Scottish Borders
 10
 39
 41
 33
 28
 23


 Shetland Islands
 4
 4
 3
 0
 0
 0


 South Ayrshire
 79
 87
 86
 79
 61
 40


 South Lanarkshire
 349
 301
 332
 223
 171
 135


 Stirling
 41
 45
 42
 28
 22
 9


 West Dunbartonshire
 86
 74
 91
 63
 56
 41


 West Lothian
 133
 116
 154
 106
 90
 71


 Scotland
 2,287
 2,815
 3,058
 2,272
 1,990
 1,327



  Notes:

  1 An ordinary cause is a type of court procedure. Up to 13 January 2008 it refers to cases where the value of the claim was over £1,500 and from 14 January 2008 over £5,000, or complex legal issues were involved.

  2 Repossession of property in breach/default of a house purchase loan or a loan secured on the property.

  3 Incorporates an approximate mapping of sheriff courts into local authority areas. Some sheriff courts will deal with cases from more than one local authority area. Four local authority areas, namely East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Midlothian and North Ayrshire, do not contain a sheriff court.

  4 Prior to 1 April 2008, decrees for repossession of property in breach/default of a loan secured on that property were not included. In addition to this, changes were made to the data collection method to improve the accuracy of the data. As a result, data collected before April 2008 are not comparable with data collected after April 2008.

  5 The last column (Apr-May 2009) covers a period of two months - all other columns in the table cover a period of three months.

  The number of Summary Application Mortgage/Loan Lender6 actions registered with sheriff courts, by approximate local authority area7, January 2008 to May 2009.

  

 Local Authority
 Jan-Mar 
2008
 Apr-Jun 
2008
 Jul-Sep 2008
 Oct-Dec 
2008
 Jan-Mar 
2009
 Apr-May 20098


 Dumfries and Galloway
 0
 0
 0
 0
 1
 0


 East Lothian
 0
 1
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Glasgow, City of
 0
 1
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Highland
 3
 0
 0
 1
 0
 0


 Perth and Kinross
 0
 0
 0
 0
 1
 0


 Scottish Borders
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 1


 West Dunbartonshire
 0
 1
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Scotland
 3
 3
 0
 1
 2
 1



  Notes:

  6 Repossession of property in breach/default of a house purchase loan or a loan secured on the property. Summary application procedure is rarely used for repossession actions. Virtually all actions for repossession are made under ordinary cause procedure.

  7 Incorporates an approximate mapping of sheriff courts into local authority areas. Some sheriff courts will deal with cases from more than one local authority area. Four local authority areas, namely East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Midlothian and North Ayrshire, do not contain a sheriff court.

  8 The last column (April-May 2009) covers a period of two months - all other columns in the table cover a period of three months.

  The data are management information statistics which have not been subjected to the same quality assurance standards as statistics produced by the Government Statistical Service.

  In addition to this, it is believed that the data for January to March 2008 contain significant inaccuracies, as some "mortgage lender" actions were misclassified as "land or heritable estate" actions, and vice versa. For example, Glasgow Sheriff Court reported having no "mortgage lender" actions but this cannot be correct. As a result, some apparent trends seen in the data do not reflect real changes.

  The Scottish Court Service, the data provider, is working with Justice Analytical Services to improve the accuracy and level of detail of the civil judicial statistics it collects. This work includes changes to the configuration and use of electronic systems for case management and data capture throughout the civil courts, which were put in place in the (civil) sheriff courts in April 2008 and the Court of Session in April 2009. In particular, actions for repossession can now be more easily and accurately identified.

  An action for repossession may not be granted, and a decree for repossession which has been granted does not necessarily result in an actual repossession or eviction. Therefore, the figures cannot be used to estimate the number of repossessions. It is not known what proportion of mortgage lender actions initiated or granted result in an actual repossession or whether the proportion stays constant each year. Hence it cannot be inferred that a rise (or fall) in these actions equates to a rise (or fall) in repossessions.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to increase access to the Home Owners’ Support Fund.

Alex Neil: In order to increase access to the Home Owners’ Support Fund, we are now accepting applications earlier than under the previous rules. Fully completed applications will now be accepted where the applicant has been unable to make full payments on a secured loan for at least three months, and the cumulative arrears are equal to one month’s full payment.

  In addition, we have allocated a record £20 million to the Home Owners’ Support Fund for the financial year 2009-10. This is double what was allocated at the start of 2008-09.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to promote the Home Owners’ Support Fund.

Alex Neil: When the revised mortgage to rent scheme and new mortgage to shared equity schemes were launched on 16 March, the following promotional action was taken:

  We updated the Scottish Government website to contain full details about the schemes including; our new application form and information leaflet, administrative procedures, list of approved money advice agencies and new maximum property values;

  We wrote to all local authorities and registered social landlords with information about the schemes and our literature;

  We wrote to every MSP and Scottish MP with information about the schemes;

  We wrote to approved money advice agencies with information about the schemes and provided them with a stock of application forms and information leaflets;

  We also wrote to a number of equalities’ organisations and other representative bodies with information about the schemes.

  More recently, officials have met with a number of different organisations to promote the schemes including; local authorities, registered social landlords, money advice agencies and insolvency practitioners.

  We have participated in conferences organised by the Chartered Institute of Housing in Scotland, the Council of Mortgage Lenders and the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations.

  Officials have also, in partnership with Money Advice Scotland, ran information sessions in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness. More than 100 organisations and 250 practitioners attended the sessions.

  In addition, we participate in conferences organised by Money Advice Scotland and Citizens Advice Scotland.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will produce guidance for law centres, money advice agencies and other support organisations with regard to accessing the Home Owners’ Support Fund.

Alex Neil: Guidance for independent money advisers, registered social landlords, local authorities and others has already been produced and was published on the Scottish Government’s website on 16 March 2009 and is available using the following link:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/investment/hosf.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any assessment has been made of the impact of increased demands on health services due to the increase in repossession actions.

Alex Neil: The lack of separate Scottish data on repossessions, highlighted in the Repossessions Group’s report, makes it difficult to assess the impact of repossessions on health and other services. We have pressed the Financial Services Authority to require lenders to provide separate Scottish data.

  NHS boards are required to have health and homelessness action plans. Assessment of these plans led to the development of the Health and Homelessness Standards which introduced a comprehensive framework for the healthcare and support of homeless people.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many households benefited from the mortgage to rent scheme between May 2006 and May 2009, broken down by month.

Alex Neil: The number of households that benefited from the mortgage to rent scheme between May 2006 and May 2009 broken down by month are contained in the following table:

  

 
 2006-07
 2007-08
 2008-09
 2009-10


 April
 
 6
 10
 13


 May
 20
 12
 13
 25


 June
 21
 10
 15
 


 July
 19
 17
 7
 


 August
 15
 16
 20
 


 September
 9
 15
 29
 


 October
 20
 14
 23
 


 November
 15
 18
 27
 


 December
 16
 12
 22
 


 January
 13
 14
 25
 


 February
 8
 15
 23
 


 March
 11
 12
 19
 


 Total
 167
 161
 233
 



  Source: mortgage to rent allocation of cases database.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many households have benefited from the mortgage to shared equity scheme since its inception.

Alex Neil: Since the inception of the mortgage to shared equity scheme, five households have been eligible for consideration for the scheme. Two have replied to say they wished to be considered for mortgage to rent instead and the remaining three have still to reply.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it defines homes for low cost ownership.

Alex Neil: The Scottish Government defines homes for low cost ownership as the five grants it makes available under the Low-cost Initiative for First-Time Buyers (LIFT). This initiative brings together the Scottish Government’s range of schemes to support first-time buyers. It aims to help people on low to moderate incomes to access home ownership where that is sustainable for them. It also aims to help the Scottish Government to deliver mixed communities in new housing developments.

  LIFT includes the following schemes:

  The Open Market Shared Equity Pilot (OMSEP) - a pilot scheme to allow first-time buyers to buy a property on the open market;

  The New Supply Shared Equity scheme (NSSE) – a scheme to allow first-time buyers to buy a new build property;

  The Shared Ownership scheme - where a first-time buyers buys part-ownership of a property and make an occupancy payment to a registered social landlord on the remaining portion;

  Rural Home Ownership Grants (RHOGs) – a grant which contributes to the costs of acquiring, self-building or renovating a home for people in rural areas who could not otherwise afford to buy; and

  GRO grants for owner occupation - grants to private developers to build houses for sale. They are used both to introduce housing for sale in areas with little or no private housing and to help meet local shortages.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many socially rented homes have been completed since 1996, broken down by (a) financial and (b) calendar year.

Alex Neil: The number of socially rented homes funded by the Affordable Housing Investment Programme that have been completed since 1996 broken down by financial year is as follows:

  Social Rent Completions 1996-2009

  

 1996-97
 4,196


 1997-98
 4,388


 1998-99
 2,092


 1999-2000
 3,591


 2000-01
 4,213


 2001-02
 4,629


 2002-03
 4,008


 2003-04
 3,654


 2004-05
 4,414


 2005-06
 5,074


 2006-07
 3,350


 2007-08
 4,241


 2008-09
 4,740



  We do not record our information on calendar years. You can find the official published statistics at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-Regeneration/HSfS. These figures differ very slightly to the published statistics due to minor definitional differences.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total number was of completions of homes recorded as affordable housing that were homes (a) for low cost ownership and (b) for rent in 2008-09.

Alex Neil: The number of completions recorded in the Affordable Housing Investment Programme in 2008-09 was 6,260. The split of this by low cost home ownership and rent is as follows:

  Completions 2008-09

  

 Rent
 4,740


 Low Cost Home Ownership
 1,520


 Total
 6,260



  These figures differ very slightly to the published statistics due to minor definitional differences: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-Regeneration/HSfS.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many homes for low cost ownership have been completed since devolution, broken down by (a) financial and (b) calendar year.

Alex Neil: The number of low cost home ownership homes funded by the Affordable Housing Investment Programme that have been completed since devolution broken down by financial year is as follows:

  Low Cost Home Ownership Completions 1999-2009

  

 1999-2000
 1,619


 2000-01
 2,033


 2001-02
 1,550


 2002-03
 1,060


 2003-04
 500


 2004-05
 1,031


 2005-06
 814


 2006-07
 1,482


 2007-08
 1,429


 2008-09
 1,520



  We do not record our information on calendar years. You can find the official published statistics at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-Regeneration/HSfS.

Justice

Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many publicly operated CCTV cameras are installed for use in the east end of Glasgow.

Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent on the installation and management of publicly operated CCTV cameras in the east end of Glasgow in (a) 2006, (b) 2007 and (c) 2008 and has been spent in 2009.

Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many agencies are involved in the management of publicly operated CCTV cameras in the east end of Glasgow.

Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times CCTV cameras in the east end of Glasgow contributed to the successful prosecution of criminals in (a) 2006, (b) 2007 and (c) 2008 and have contributed in 2009.

Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to expand the operation of CCTV cameras in the east end of Glasgow.

Fergus Ewing: This is a matter for Glasgow Community and Safety Services. The information requested is not held centrally.

Justice

Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent on the installation and management of publicly operated CCTV cameras in (a) 2006, (b) 2007 and (c) 2008 and has been spent in 2009.

Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times CCTV cameras contributed to the successful prosecution of criminals in (a) 2006, (b) 2007 and (c) 2008 and have contributed in 2009.

Fergus Ewing: The information requested is not held centrally.

Justice

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on consulting on adding illegal money lending to the list of specific offences that are deemed as criminal lifestyle offences.

Kenny MacAskill: We plan to consult shortly on the possibility of adding a number of offences to the list of criminal lifestyle offences contained in the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. Illegal money lending is only one of the offences under consideration.

NHS Staff

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when the evaluation of the Review of Nursing in the Community pilot will be carried out and published.

Nicola Sturgeon: During 2008, an external research team led by Napier University, collected baseline data to be used to inform the full evaluation study and to provide information on community nursing before nurses in the four pilot sites transition to the new model. The research focused on the current role of community nurses and their views of the new model to be tested. Also included were client views, and in particular their experiences of receiving care and support from community nurses.

  The baseline study report was published on 2 April and can be accessed on the Scottish Government website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/266873/0079883.pdf.

  A briefer research findings document is also available at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/03/17101957/0.

  A full evaluation of the impact of the introduction of the new service delivery model on patients and staff will be undertaken during 2009-10. The evaluation study is currently being procured and a contract for this is likely to be awarded to the successful contractor during July 2009. There will be two phases to the study. Phase 1 will be an interim evaluation of early implementers by the end of 2009. Phase 2 will provide a full evaluation of the whole project and will report by autumn 2010. Both evaluation reports will be published after they have been considered by the Scottish Government.

NHS Staff

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) doctors, (b) nurses, (c) consultants and (d) auxiliary staff have been victims of violence in each NHS hospital in the Lothians region in each of the last 10 years.

Nicola Sturgeon: : This is a matter for NHS Lothian. The Scottish Government does not hold detailed information centrally on attacks on NHS staff.

  The Scottish Government recognises that violence against staff is a major concern and has several initiatives to tackle this issue. It was announced on 17 June that over a million pounds of funding has been released for staff well-being projects through the Working Well Challenge Fund. Of this, £350,688 was awarded for projects addressing violence against staff, including a successful bid from NHS Lothian. Work is also ongoing through the occupational health and safety community across Scotland to tackle this issue.

Ports

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to publish the final National Planning Framework for Scotland 2.

Stewart Stevenson: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-24668 on 18 June 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Regeneration

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications for the Town Centre Regeneration Fund were received after the first deadline of 5 June 2009.

Alex Neil: I can confirm that no applications have been received after the first deadline of the 5 June 2009.

Regeneration

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what stakeholders applied to the Town Centre Regeneration Fund before the 5 June 2009 deadline.

Alex Neil: I can confirm that 133 applications were received for the Town Centre Regeneration Fund before the 5 June 2009 deadline. Lead applicants included local authorities, third sector groups, local chambers of commerce, and businesses. In many cases the lead applicant applied on behalf of or in partnership with other local stakeholders.

Scottish Centre for Financial Education

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to invite a representative from the mutual and cooperative sector to join the management committee of the Scottish Centre for Financial Education.

Keith Brown: Membership of the Scottish Centre for Financial Education management group will be considered following the wider review of Learning and Teaching Scotland. This will include consideration of the centre’s role in supporting the delivery of financial education in the context of Curriculum for Excellence.

Scottish Government Publication

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many copies of Curriculum Review - Experiences and Outcomes were (a) printed and (b) sent to teachers; what the cost was of (i) printing and (ii) distributing the document, and whether consideration was given to (A) reducing the printing cost by designing a less glossy document in a simpler binding and (B) reducing the printing and distribution cost by the use of the internet to make the document available to teachers, with only a limited distribution of printed documents to schools.

Fiona Hyslop: The decision to issue the Curriculum Review - Experiences and Outcomes in a print format was based on engagement with teachers and teaching unions. During the trialling and engagement process, teachers expressed a strong demand for personal hard copies, in addition to the online version. They believed this format would be the most effective in enhancing teachers’ understanding of the linkages across the curriculum, which is a key principle of Curriculum for Excellence. The design brief for the Curriculum Review - Experiences and Outcomes was influenced by engagement with teachers and by the need to ensure consistency with the online version.

  The format of the ring back folder was a direct response to teacher requests. The Government decided to bear the cost nationally rather than require individual teachers and schools to bear the cost of printing and copying from their own devolved school management budget.

  One hundred thousand copies of the Curriculum Review - Experiences and Outcomes have been printed, of which 61,375 copies were sent directly to schools, providing sufficient for a copy for every teacher, for other staff in schools and to cover contingencies.

  Copies have also been distributed to teacher education institutions, local authorities, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education, early years centres and Scotland’s colleges.

  The total print cost was £747,645. Final distribution costs are projected to be no more than £175,000.

Sectarianism

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-24090 by Keith Brown on 3 June 2009, on what date it published its guidance for twinning arrangements between schools.

Keith Brown: The guidance was published on 12 December 2006 and continues to be made available online and in hard copy. The Scottish Government remains committed to encouraging twinning activities to break down barriers between communities and encourage friendships between pupils.

Sectarianism

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-23683 by Fergus Ewing on 26 May 2009, how much money (a) Nil by Mouth, (b) Sense over Sectarianism and (c) Kick-out Bigotry have received from the Race, Religion and Refugee Integration Fund.

Fergus Ewing: We have provided £5.5 million to support 33 projects through the Race, Religion and Refugee Integration Funding Stream. These are all clearly listed on the One Scotland website and can be found at: http://www.scotlandagainstracism.com/onescotland/366.1.223.html . In addition to this funding we have also provided Sense Over Sectarianism with £412,500 over the 2008-11 period to deliver community-based anti-sectarian projects in the Glasgow and travel-to-work area, and Nil by Mouth with £118,294 over the 2009-11 period to take forward a project on sectarianism in the workplace.

  The Scottish Government is not funding Kick-out Bigotry. On 9 October 2008 the Cabinet Secretary for Justice announced the "Promoting Citizenship through Football: A Government and Football Partnership" which will co-ordinate the wider remit of Government initiatives through football in a cohesive and constructive manner. This includes work to tackle sectarianism.

Single Outcome Agreements

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-23829 by Roseanna Cunningham on 27 May 2009, whether it considers that single outcome agreements require a strategic environmental assessment under section 11 of the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005.

Roseanna Cunningham: Section 11 of the 2005 Act has to be considered on an individual and case-by-case basis by the Scottish ministers.

  At this point there are no identified justifiable reasons why the Scottish ministers would use their powers under Section 11 of the 2005 Act, in relation to any Scottish single outcome agreements.

Single Outcome Agreements

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-23829 by Roseanna Cunningham on 27 May 2009, whether it will advise local authorities that single outcome agreements fall within the scope of the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 and therefore require a strategic environmental assessment.

Roseanna Cunningham: I refer the member to the answer to the question S3W-19895 on 2 February 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Single Outcome Agreements

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-23829 by Roseanna Cunningham on 27 May 2009, whether it will produce guidance to assist local authorities and their community planning partners in carrying out the strategic environmental assessment of single outcome agreements.

Roseanna Cunningham: There are no current plans to produce strategic environmental assessment guidance for Scottish responsible authorities producing single outcome agreements.

Sport

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what capital budget the Scottish Swimming Healthy Living Manager has.

Shona Robison: As the role of the Healthy Living Managers is to implement and deliver a healthy living strategy building on existing services they do not have a capital budget.

Sport

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what schemes the Scottish Swimming Healthy Living Manager has developed to ensure that as many people as possible start to swim.

Shona Robison: The work of the Scottish Swimming Healthy Living Manager falls into two areas:

  Targeting those who are inactive through swimming/aquatics programmes;

  Targeting those who already swim but who could be encouraged to do more or to maintain their involvement.

  The managers are supporting interested local authorities in developing a tailored programme, building on existing initiatives.

  Examples so far include:

  Glasgow (free/discounted swimming lessons at Gorbals Leisure Centre for pre-schoolers; aquatics programme with former prostitutes who live in a hostel nearby);

  Fife (work with young mums and their children in adult and child swimming sessions; older adults swimming programme);

  Western Isles (GP referral scheme within Well North programme, which includes swimming lessons, aquafit, and swim/gym);

  East Lothian (aqua splash programme in two secondary schools);

  Dumfries and Galloway (primary school swimming entitlement).